Do-It-Yourself Story

I determined that the outer coil of the heating element was open and not heating. I decided to order the heating element kit and replace just the coils instead of buying a new element assembly with the new metal mounting plate. When I got the kit the instructions said not to rebuild the heating element if the metal mounting plate is rusty or badly discolored. Fortunately mine wasn't, but I think this should be revealed in the description of the kit. Also look at your ceramic insulators and make sure that no more than six need replacing for that's all that come in the kit. Restringing the coils is not difficult but can't be rushed. After reassembly the new heating coils made the drying time a lot shorter. While the dryer drum was out I vacuumed the inside thoroughly to remove lint and also vacuumed the air flow path in the front panel and blower area. Some hints on dis-assembly: On my dryer the drum belt tension arm can be pulled back and hooked onto the motor mounting bracket to completely remove tension from the belt. This is helpful when it's time to route the belt on assembly as you don't have to hold the tension wheel back while trying to route the belt around the motor pulley and the tension wheel. Once the belt is in place it is easy to reach in and release the tension pulley arm from the motor mount bracket and let it tension the belt. I removed the 4 torx screws holding the control panel which made it easier to remove and re-install the top panel of the dryer. When removing the drum, pay close attention to its alignment with the scallops in the side panels and it will come out the front fairly easily. It was very satisfying that the repair worked.